Everything Sad Is Coming Untrue is a thought-provoking collection of artful, emotional and radio-friendly tunes that achieve a high level of accessibility without sacrificing any of the Jason Gray’s personality or creativity.

Jason has an uncanny ability to absorb images, emotions and truths from a variety of sources: theology, literature, relationships, his own struggles, pop culture, poetry, etc., and to pull together those diverse strands into a unified whole. Over the years he has developed a razor sharp knack for saying deep things in a way that the rest of us can relate to.

Jason Gray [Everything Sad Is Coming Untrue]| Posted August 25, 2009[MAIN REVIEW]
I’ve been anxiously awaiting the release of the new album from Jason Gray, “Everything Sad Is Coming Untrue”, which hits stores September 1, 2009. Gray’s previous project, “All The Lovely Losers”, dealt with brokenness and now he takes the subject a step further, dealing with brokenness that begins with confession. “Everything Sad Is Coming Untrue” was produced by Jason Ingram and Rusty Varenkamp and artfully blends elements of folk, alternative rock and even some R&B into the project.

“More Like Falling In Love” takes the listener to a deeper level, asking to fall in love with Christ instead of just following the rules of Christianity. There are two versions of the title song “Everything Sad Is Coming Untrue”, parts 1 and 2. Both versions of the title song are about renewal which is the theme of the entire album. Jason’s fixation on redemption is based on his history as a kid with a chronic stutter who eventually discovered his calling as a singer meant that his weaknesses are nothing to hide. In fact, because of our weaknesses God’s grace and strength are perfectly revealed. The inspiration for the title songs came from a quote from ‘The Lord Of The Rings’ and the beauty and truth of the words captured Jason’s imagination. He worked on the songs for over a year and ends the project with part 2, a melancholy song that lists several more examples of earthly tragic events and sin areas that we all struggle with including “every father helpless and angry, every mother with her heart on the shelf, every daughter whose innocence was stolen, every son who couldn’t help himself”. Each verse ends with the question: “Could it be that everything sad is coming untrue?”

First single “For The First Time, Again” explores the excitement of when we first accepted Christ and how we lose that enthrallment when burdened down by our life experiences and tight regulations within the church. The song was written after Jason watched kids respond to an altar call and wanted to experience his first love, “what it was like to fall in love with Jesus for the first time, to be born again”. This is my favorite song on the album and just like “Blessed Be” and “Grace” from Jason’s last album, you won’t be disappointed with the melodic style of the songs.

“Does It Fade With Our Voices,” is a worship song that celebrates our spiritual lives and sacrifices. Like most Jason Gray songs, this song really challenges me to think about how I’m living out my faith with the urge to be God’s hands and feet. The album continues with several folk-style songs like “The Cut”, “This Far” and “Weak” from “All The Lovely Losers” . Many of the remaining songs including “Holding The Key”, “Help Me, Thank You”, “Better Way To Live”, “Hold Me Back” and “I Am New” continue with Jason’s signature-style introspective and challenging lyrics set to folk-pop melodies.

Jason’s great sense of humor comes out in the song “How I Ended Up Here” where Jason discusses how “sometimes he doesn’t like people at all and hides behind a lobster tank from all the people he tries to avoid”. “The Golden Boy And The Prodigal” also reflects Jason’s personal confession of how we all have good and bad intentions in our hearts and minds.

CLOSING THOUGHTS
My favorite songs are “More Like Falling In Love”, “Everything Sad Is Coming Untrue”, parts 1 and 2, “For The First Time, Again” and “Does It Fade With Our Voices”. If you like Bebo Norman, Andrew Peterson and Derek Webb folk-pop style music, you can’t go wrong with Jason Gray.

Jason Gray’s latest project, Everything Sad Is Coming Untrue, is an album of disarming poignancy and ubiquitous vulnerability. Its 13 songs reveal the longings and struggles of one who is trying to live up to godly ideals. That being said, it is an album brimming with hope, joy and honesty.

A sense of self-deprecating empathy accompanied by genuine transparency permeates the songs of Everything Sad Is Coming Untrue. Gray plays to his strength as a songwriter, creating songs with an ability to establish meaningful rapport with listeners. Gray wears his beating heart on his rolled-up sleeve. In truth, every track of Everything Sad Is Coming Untrue‘s acts as a window in that house of glass where stones aren’t meant to be thrown.

Fans of those artists who tend to be more nuanced, blurring the line between modern pop & worship, (i.e.Paul Alan, Brandon Heath, Matt Kearny, Jadon Lavik, Jeremy Riddle, Waterdeep, and Matthew West) should find Everything Sad Is Coming Untrue to their liking. The album drops September 1st from Centricity Music.

Admirable songwriting| Posted November 05, 2009
I found myself enjoying this album immensely, except for "part 2". The music is great, the lyrics are unconventional....it even inspired me to write a little myself. I wonder if he and Matthew West ever worked together....